Pie à la Love
by Meatball42
Summary: A surprise visitor from LA throws a wrench into Booth's plans. B/B, Brennan/you'll-have-to-read-to-find-out.


**Author's Note: This is set anytime in Bones, and a short while after Trust Metric in Numb3rs, but before Hollywood Homicide .**

[*]

"Booth, I have two skeletons from the late sixteen hundreds to identify, I don't see why I can't wait until tomorrow to meet this friend of yours."

Booth ignored his partner's complaints as he steered her into her chair at the Royal Diner. He sat down beside her and waved down a waitress before answering. "Look, Bones, I've known this guy since the academy, he's one of my closest friends. I want you to meet him before his team has to go back to LA, and he's only here for tonight." Booth didn't tell Brennan that he was planning to get his old friend's opinion on how to ask her out.

Brennan sighed and inspected her watch. "I suppose I could stay for fifteen minutes or so."

"Temperance?" Brennan's head spun towards the voice, her eyes wide. Booth turned in his seat to watch her as she jumped up and embraced the brunette man who had just entered the diner.

"Colby! I can't believe it's you!" Brennan said happily as she was held tightly by the man. She moved back to look at him. "And I can see that you have retained your impressive musculature in the years since we last met."

"Yeah, I know Tempe, it's been a while," Colby smiled. "It's great to see you."

Booth stood up, standing awkwardly next to his chair as he tried to sneak himself in between the pair. "Hey Colby! Glad you could make it!" Booth shook the other FBI agent's hand warmly. "So, uh, you know my partner?"

Brennan smiled and sat down, motioning Colby to sit down next to her in the chair Booth had just vacated. Booth stood for a moment before sitting across from them. He watched them talk unhappily while the waitress brought them all coffee and set Booth's pie down in front of him. He took a small bite, but it didn't taste as sweet as it usually did.

"Colby and I dated four years ago, Booth. When he was hired to Los Angeles we had to break up, but we've remained friends, nonetheless." She smiled at Colby, who was holding her hand above the table.

"So!" Booth interjected, trying to pull his partner's attention away from the man she was gazing at. When it worked, however, he floundered for something to say. "Colby! How've you been?"

"LA's been great," Colby said in his raspy voice. "I just finished up a deep undercover op and got offered a team here in D.C."

"Are you moving here?" Brennan asked him, eyes wide.

Colby smiled at her enthusiasm for the idea. "I wasn't going to, but I might consider it," he smiled flirtatiously. Brennan titled her head in response, tightening her hold on his hand.

Booth stared across the table in horror, watching as his plan backfired horribly. He'd been hoping Colby could help him ask out the forensic anthropologist, but apparently he'd just set her up for a long-term committed relationship with one of his best friends. He ground his teeth together and jumped up from his seat, wrenching the attention of the two people at the table away from each other's eyes.

"Come on Bones, gotta get you back to the Jeffersonian."

Brennan's face fell. "I suppose you're right Booth," she sighed. "How long are you staying in D.C., Colby?"

Colby's eyes flicked to Booth, who paid very close attention to putting his coat on and decidedly NOT watching his partner and her ex-boyfriend.

"I have a flight back to LA tomorrow, Tempe. But I'll call you; maybe we can set up a web-cam thing. My friend Charlie back home says they're great."

Brennan looked sad, but she smiled anyway. "Alright, It was great seeing you again, even if it wasn't for long." She gave Colby a last hug, then left the diner.

"Seeley!" Colby called. Booth turned back to his friend, not really in the mood for conversation.

"I'm sorry, man," Colby said sincerely. "I didn't know you two were together, and Tempe's not exactly the type to notice if somebody's uncomfortable."

"We're not together," Booth said a bit rudely. "She's just my partner."

Colby's eyebrows went up. "Wow, really?" He shrugged. "Well I can tell that want a bit more than just a partner, and knowing Tempe like I do, I think you two would make a great couple."

"What, you're not going to take her back now that you're staying in D.C.?" Booth asked scathingly. He was more than a bit jealous at seeing the object of his affections cuddling up to her ex, especially since it was a good friend of his.

Colby smiled at Booth's tone. He'd known Booth long enough to recognize that the other agent wasn't really mad at him, just the situation in general, and Colby was practiced at deflation tension. "I'm not staying here, Seeley. My team in LA…" He stared into his coffee for a moment while Booth appraised him. "I'm staying there, if I can."

"If you can?"

"I had to lie to my team for the op. We got the bad guys, but I'm not sure if they trust me anymore." Colby finished off his coffee and stood up.

"Take my advice, Seeley, and ask her out. Don't worry about me. Tempe and I have been over for years. We're good friends, but that's all we are." Colby slapped Booth on the shoulder before he left.

Booth considered his friend's advice as he left the diner and started driving Brennan back to the Jeffersonian. He was considering how to ask her out when she spoke.

"You seemed to react in an uncomfortable manner to seeing Colby, even though you told me that the two of you were good friends." She looked at him quizzically.

Booth sighed. "I just didn't know you two knew each other." He kept his eyes on the road. Bones wasn't the best at understanding other people's feeling, or even her own, but she was getting better at reading his.

Know, though, Brennan was just confused. "What bearing does my relationship with Colby have on your feelings toward him?"

"Of course your relationship with him affects my feelings, Bones, you're my partner." Booth dodged the question.

"Were you jealous?"

"What?! Of course not, Bones, that's- no way." Booth was surprised by her intuitiveness, and snuck a quick glance over at the passenger's seat. If he was seeing this right… did she look… let down?

"Well… maybe a bit," he admitted. The SUV was silent for almost a minute, and Booth's mouth had gone dry with nervousness before she spoke.

"Angela predicted this would happen."

Booth's head swiveled completely toward Brennan, his eyes wide. "How did Angela know about this?!"

"Booth, watch the road!" A horn blared from another car as Booth swerved back into his lane.

"Angela said that you would be jealous if you saw me with a previous lover. She explained that you have a repressed sexual desire for me and that jealousy would be proof."

"Well that's completely ridiculous, I don't have 'repressed sexual desire' for anyone, least of all you," Booth grumbled as he turned into the Jeffersonian's parking lot. He parked the car before he realized what he had said, and quickly looked at his partner. Booth could tell her expression was hurt, although she was looking out the passenger side window.

"God, Bones, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Booth fumbled for the right words as Brennan didn't respond. "What I meant was… I could never _just_…" Booth struggled to find the words; he was never comfortable discussing stuff like this with Bones. "I could never _just_ want to sleep with you. You're amazing, you're a genius and the most beautiful woman I've ever met. I… I love you, Bones."

He sat there in the driver's seat, paralyzed, knowing full well that he could've just ruined both his job and the best friendship he'd ever had. Brennan still hadn't moved, and Booth carefully reached over to touch her shoulder. "Bones?" He whispered.

She turned toward him and showed an unsure smile. "I-" She blinked a few times. "I don't know if I love you, Booth, but-" She looked into his eyes, feeling the same butterflies as she always did whenever she was too close to him, but had always ignored. Slowly, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

They kissed for a full minute, recognizing the perfect calm and safety they felt in the other's presence. They had just pulled away, smiling, when Booth's phone rang. He answered it, not breaking eye contact with his partner.

"Booth." His eyes widened in surprise and he hit the speaker button.

"Hey Tempe," Colby's voice said through the phone. Brennan looked at Booth, concerned at Colby's motives for calling. "Hello Colby."

"I just wanted to tell you two that I've decided to stay in LA. Caroline told me that you two've been dancing around each other for years, so I figured I had the opportunity to be matchmaker. So Tempe, Booth loves you. I don't know if he's admitted it, but it's true. And Tempe, I love you, and I want what's best for you. Booth's a great guy, and I think you'd be happy with him."

Brennan smiled, quelling the worry that had turned Booth's stomach when Brennan's ex had said he loved her. "I think you might be right, Colby. However, I am a scientist, and I think I'll need to do some research before I draw a conclusion."

"So Colby, great talk, but we've got some research to do, can I talk to you later?" Booth grinned at Brennan, who shook her head at the joke.

"Anytime, Seeley." The grin in the LA agent's voice was apparent before Booth snapped his phone shut and leaned forward for some 'research.'

[*]

Colby closed his phone with a laugh. "I still think this was a bit mean."

Angela shook her head, returning his grin. "They needed it. You helped them out, Colby! And Jack totally lost the bet!"

"You'll send me my cut in LA?" Colby asked as he lingered at the loading bay to the airplane.

"Of course. I'll send your thousand after I make sure they're really together." Angela's smiled gave way to a serious expression. "I hope this situation with your team works out. Tell Epps he's a moron if he lets you go."

Colby shook his head. "I'll pass the message on. I know Don would have to listen to his old girlfriend concerning national security."

Angela laughed, knowing that Don would never let a personal relationship influence such an important decision. She kissed Colby on the cheek. "Just go and get your job back!"

Colby boarded the plane, planning how he would fix his own life in LA.

[*]

**Yeah, I hate this. Please tell me what you think. Even if it completely sucks, I need to know!**


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